In figuring an overdraft, "holds" must also be considered. A "hold" is a temporary pencil debit made against an account at the request of some department, for a transaction which they wish to execute. The rule of the bank may be that no debit can be made against an account unless it be signed by an officer; to save time and serve convenience a reservation of funds is made at once in pencil, and the debit itself, duly signed, later comes to the bookkeepers in the regular course of the day's business, when the entry is made in ink. The hold is made only for a good and sufficient purpose, the department probably acting under specific orders of the customer, and may be erased if the department ordering it finally decides not to put through the transaction for which the money is held. A hold against an account for which there is not a sufficient balance is considered an overdraft.
The Balancing of the Accounts After the exchanges are paid the daily average balances are taken off and entered in the daily average balance book in round, numbers. On the last day of the month all the average balances of the accounts in the daily average balance books are footed and the sum divided by the number of business days in the month. This average is placed in the monthly average balance book opposite the name of the account.
All transactions entered after the exchanges are called "after noon" work. These debits and credits are fully described on the accounts current sheets. During the day the receiving teller sends to the bookkeepers batches of deposits which he has sorted, entered on their sheets, and proved. The afternoon mail credits are sent by the mail teller to the bookkeepers to be posted, with a slip showing the amounts credited to the different ledgers. The afternoon mail checks on the bank are charged to the check desk department, where they are sorted, proved, and distributed to the bookkeepers. After banking hours the certified checks are footed and then given to the bookkeepers to be posted. Likewise, when the general bookkeeper's credits and debits are posted in his journal, they are distributed to the various bookkeepers for credit or debit to the accounts. The transit department charges are entered by the bookkeepers and accounts current clerks from the carbon copies of the letters which the transit department is send ing to the correspondents.
When all the debits and credits are posted, the bookkeepers "strike" all the accounts.
The accounts of a bank are mostly balanced once a month; some accounts are balanced more often—daily, semiweekly, weekly, semimonthly, or whenever the pass-book is presented for that purpose. To spread out through the month the balancing of accounts and the preparation of statements, the accounts are divided among the days of the month, one group of accounts being closed on the first, another on the second, etc. The ac counts current clerks strike a balance of the accounts that are to be closed and enter the balance on "striking sheets," which are compared with the bookkeepers' balances. The accounts current sheets are sent to the auditor's department, where the back sheets have been collected and where copies of all sheets are made, and where, too, all canceled vouchers are filed. After comparing the vouchers and the lists for numbers, the vouchers and the state ment are despatched by mail to the customer. Very large pack ages of vouchers are sent by express. With the vouchers a reconcilement blank is enclosed.
Other Duties of the Check Desk Department Advices of drafts drawn on the bank by correspondents are filed for reference in case of irregularities in the drafts. The accounts are not charged upon receipt of advice of drafts drawn but upon presentation for payment. Advices of credits in transit are handled by the check clerk, who sees that the advised remit tances are duly received and credited. In case of delay in receipt of an advised remittance, notice is sent to the customer. The mail teller advises the correspondents of credits placed to their respective accounts by other banks. These advices are checked against the entries on the accounts current sheets.
Among the minor duties of the bookkeepers may be noted the following: . All discount and loan tickets that require average balances for the preceding six months or year are filled in by the bookkeepers who keep the respective accounts.
2. A record of certified checks is kept in the outstanding certified check book, and this is proved, say, once a week.
3. When a new account is opened or an old account closed, notice of the fact is sent by the bookkeeper to the various departments and officers concerned.
4. All requests for information concerning an account must be answered by the proper bookkeeper.